Aussie streaming platform Stan nabs new 'Twin Peaks' in Showtime deal

On Thursday, local streaming platform Stan announced it had signed a deal with Showtime to host the U.S. network's content in Australia. The deal helps Stan compete on premium content with Netflix's original shows, such as Orange is the New Black, and local offering, Presto, which hosts HBO content along with award-winning shows like Mr Robot.

The arrangement means Stan gets new shows including the series Billions starring Paul Giamatti, along with established favourites such as The Affair, Penny Dreadful, Ray Donovan, Dexter and Californication, among others.

A number of Showtime productions, including Ray Donovan, currently appear on Presto, while others are on Australian Netflix. At a press conference Thursday, Stan CEO Mike Sneesby said he couldn't comment directly, but suggested a number of licenses could become exclusive as they expire on other platforms.

The deal started with Billions this week, and in 2017, Stan will have exclusive rights to the highly-anticipated return of Twin Peaks.

"The deal with SHOWTIME rounds out an amazing first year for Stan, with over 1.5 million Australians having used the service across almost 700,000 subscriptions since our launch on Australia Day 2015," Sneesby said in an emailed statement.

The deal also includes rights to a large number of CBS and The CW shows, so Aussies will soon have easy access to titles like Under the Dome and Reign.

Sneesby told reporters Thursday he predicted the Australian streaming on demand market would grow exponentially. "Over the next 3 to 4 years ... we're going to see greater penetration numbers than what we've seen in international markets," he said. He added that Netflix, which has great name recognition in Australia, had been a valuable ally for Stan in building category awareness for streaming.

With Netflix and Presto also fighting for streaming supremacy, Showtime could be the edge Stan needs in Australia.

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